Strength-Based Therapists in Highland Park, CA

A native Angeleno, Laura believes that healing emerges through intentional everyday practices that transform into rituals of self-care. Using an intersectional and strength-based framework Laura approaches therapy as a collaborative process to navigate the complexities of the individual lived experience and interpersonal relationships. She supports and identifies the strengths and internal resources clients are inherently born with and promotes the connection to self and community. She has been successful in helping professionals, artists, and creative individuals to create healthier relationships with their inner and outer worlds.

I am a strength-based therapist working in Northeast Los Angeles. I welcome collaborative conversations regarding the preferred lives those would like to inhabit, finding myself continually curious about the inherent resourcefulness of my clients. I enjoy helping artists to align with preferred intentions in creativity. Often the trickery of circulated messages around "success" can spell us into forgetting one's values in life. As adjunct faculty at Antioch University Los Angeles, I teach numerous courses including Narrative Therapy In Practice, Postmodern Approaches to Addiction, and Group Treatment.

Are you living the life you want to live? Or the story someone else wrote for you? The world is so loud. Whether it is society, school, work, family, social media, religion, or friends, there are so many voices telling us how we ‘should’ be. With all that noise, it can be hard to hear our own voice. Living out of alignment with ourselves can lead to feelings of anxiety, loneliness, depression and psychic pain. Our job, together, is to create a calm, safe space where you can tune in to yourself, connect with yourself, learn to accept yourself, and figure out how to live a life that honors your values and the desires of your heart.

I am a licensed clinical social worker that uses a strength based and trauma informed approach to caring for my clients. My goal is to help you manage your anxiety, depression, anger and relationship issues. I have worked in community and public school-based settings providing individual and family therapy to children, teens and adults. I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, TF-CBT, solution-focused, problem-solving, mindfulness and grief and loss to help clients decrease and manage depression, anxiety, stress, trauma and relationship issues.

You feel anxious, stuck, and often made to feel out of control by your own thoughts and fears. Whether you have OCD, are struggling with perinatal or postpartum issues, are in transition, or have a history of trauma, you are tired of letting your fears and doubts run your life and relationships. You're discouraged from continuing toward your dreams. You want nothing more than to feel confident in yourself and live a life aligned with your values, but you are not sure where to start or worry about finding someone who will actually hear you. You've come to the right place, I'm here to work collaboratively with you and really listen.

Do you always feel preoccupied about something? Do you overthink everything? Is it hard for you to make a decision because you are filled with doubt or you imagine every possible outcome? Are you often easily overwhelmed, finding it hard to shut off your brain at night or when you need to really focus on a task? Does one little thing going wrong ruin your whole day? Are your emotions getting in the way of you building the life you want? Maybe they're even preventing you from being present with your friends and family, leaving you feeling alone.

Are past traumatic experiences, being an adult child of a dysfunctional home, incest survival experiences, addiction issues, phobia, panic, anxiety, C-PTSD or depression affecting your success? Are distractions impacting your optimal performance abilities at work, in your intimate relationships, or in relationships with family members or with yourself? Are you surviving instead of thriving? I provide accelerated psychotherapy for individuals and couples who are challenged by performance loss and emotional unhappiness. Also offer Diagnosis evaluation for addiction, mood, personality, and adult Autism spectrum. HSP and Kink friendly.

Your story deeply matters to me. I provide relational, integrative, and sex-positive therapy to queer and BIPOC clients. My clients are looking to make their minds and bodies a safe home and are often the first in their families to have the courage to disrupt limiting beliefs and cycles. They seek to challenge expectations as they dare to redefine themselves wholeheartedly. Together, we will make space to explore the impact of generational and personal traumas, navigate the complexities and beauty of intersecting identities, and create meaningful, lasting, and accessible healing practices. Let's connect!

If you are struggling with anxiety, depression, your past, your present, or your future, you don’t have to do it alone. A shift in perspective can profoundly affect how we feel and what we are able to do, or stop doing, in our lives. Talking with someone who is both objective and 100% on your side can help you see things from a new angle and move forward in new ways, with someone who cares standing behind you.

If you've become lost amongst obstacles on your journey, I'd like to help guide you to more happiness by offering suggestions, uncovering unwanted patterns, and leading you from the past to the present in order to heal and evolve, enhancing your happiness. Through changes in perceptions/attitudes and being willing to see situations with a new pair of glasses, you can reach your goals and evolve. My clients report that they enjoy my down-to-earth attitude and humor and my use of Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, TRM, meditation and yoga to treat mind-body symptoms. I work best with clients who are motivated to gain self-awareness and see patterns that are no longer serving them. I give homework between sessions in order to keep the continuity of healing working consistently. I feel very blessed to be working in a field that serves people who are finding their best selves and evolving into the people they want to be.

Are you concerned about a child or adolescent that is struggling? Are they shutting down and sad? Worried or mad? Are they having trouble functioning at school or with friends? How about at home and with their family? Has something in their life changed? Maybe they need a little more support at this particular time... Therapy can help. I work with individuals of all ages, couples, and families.

Are you looking to solve the problem you have been having within your family? I am here to help you get the support you’ve been looking for to improve your relationships. Help with the fights at home about homework. Help getting your child to do what they are told the first time. Help with a transition to a new stage of life. I've always gravitated towards working with youth and young adults with the highest needs because that is where I have seen I've been most effective as a therapist.

My collaborative approach is to uncover the solutions that will best promote healthy and authentic relationships, by increasing meaningful communication, reducing anxiety, and successfully navigating transitions. I work with individuals and couples, and within the dynamic of families and business systems, to build on and enhance strengths.

Whether your struggle is deeply rooted or a temporary challenge, my role as a therapist is to create a safe space for exploring solutions and finding peace. It is possible to create a life you love with the life you have; let me help you. I also have personal and professional experience with the NPE (non-parent expected, or non paternal event) experience and am extremely comfortable, confident, and empathetic while treating those who have had shocking DNA discoveries. EMAIL IS BEST WAY TO INITIATE COMMUNICATION WITH ME! I am not taking on couples/marriage counseling at this time.

In my experience, psychotherapy can be a home for the doubts, questions, and dreams that may otherwise be relegated to the shadows. I see my role as an empathic companion as a well as an active guide who creates a safe base from which to walk on paths less trodden. The people that I work with often start this process with the sense that something is "off" or the fear that they are either "too much" or "not enough." And along the way, they gain clarity and compassion.

You’ve worked hard and have come a long way. On the outside everything seems fine, but on the inside there’s the tension, the worry, and the overthinking. You want to feel solid, more calm, better able to let go of patterns that no longer serve you. You’re not sure where to start, but what you do know is that something has to change. Therapy can help. Let’s talk. Communities I serve include creatives, LGBTQI folks, BIPOC, and adults from multicultural backgrounds.

Welcome! I'm Lauren, and I'm looking forward to meeting you. The clients I see come to me for a variety of reasons. Some are having trouble adapting to a change or transition in thier life. Others are seeking to increase motivation or gain insight into patterns they would like to change. I've helped clients navigate tough relationship issues, develop better self confidence, and improve thier feeling of purpose during difficult times. I utilize an eclectic approach, incorporating cognitive behavioral, narrative and person centered therapy in order to help my clients feel better able to cope with what life throws at them.

Do you feel like you aren't operating at your full potential? Do you experience thoughts and feelings that interfere with your life balance? Although there are many reasons one seeks therapy, it is often our desire to feel connection, contentment and happiness. We all have unique stories that have shaped us. I would like to work with you to discover all that has led you to your current situation. To guide and assist you in a journey that will allow you to operate from a place of acceptance, compassion, and understanding for self and others.

I strongly believe in the healing power of a safe therapeutic space and human connection to build resilience and foster a more fulfilling life. I strive to co-create a safe space that is warm, collaborative, and empathic so that, together, we can process and integrate past or current traumatic or disruptive experiences, and explore questions of identity, self-concept, and interpersonal relationships. My client-centered, trauma-informed, and integrative approach lends itself to meeting my clients where they are at and walking alongside you as you uncover the strengths and tools within to face life’s challenges.